Rubyfruit Jungle Written by Rita Mae Brown. Term Paper

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Rubyfruit Jungle written by Rita Mae Brown. This paper also discusses the author, the challenges she had to meet and the obstacles she surmounted in order to achieve something in her life. The paper also reviews on the fact that distinctions cannot be made between human beings simply on the grounds of casts, race and sexual orientation. This paper also concentrates on the character of Molly, the heroine of Rubyfruit jungle and how she achieves the goals in her life.

Rubyfruit Jungle

Ruby Fruit Jungle is one of the greatest works produced by Rita Mae Brown. Her work in this novel was readily acclaimed as it reached the hands of young readers. They responded enthusiastically to the glistening, risque and shrewd heroine of the novel. Published in 1973, it has won great approbation since then. While expressing her opinions about the heroine and the author of the book, the chancellor of the University of Wisconsin, Donna E. Shalala said, "Molly Bolt is a genuine descendant-genuine female descendant- of Huckleberry Finn. And Rita Mae Brown is, like Mark Twain, a serious writer who gets her message across through laughter" (The Rita Mae Brown Bookshelf, (http://www.ritamaebrown.com/books/rmb.html).

Born on November 28, 1944 in a town called Hanover in Pennsylvania, Rita Mae Brown is a many woman in one. She is an accredited novelist, poetess, feminist, humorist, nuclear activist, social activist, screenwriter, animal lover and a farmer. She was one of the anterior members of the National Organization for Women. She later resigned from the organization when the other members tried to subdue her position, the reason being that she was a lesbian. In one of the meetings of the National Organization of Women, she spoke her mind and vociferates out, "I'm tired of hearing everyone moan about men. Say something good about women. I'll say something good. I love them. I'm a lesbian." When asked during an interview about her remarks, she said, "Yeah, well, I'm a bad liar, so I might as well tell the truth" (The Farmer Brown, (http://home.houston.rr.com/blase/Root%20Folder/ritamae.html).Her reputation became more notorious after her two years affair with Martina Navratilova, a former tennis player star. She is the writer of many great novels. While answering a question in an interview about the status of gay people in the society, Rita Brown answered, "Nobody cares about gay people. Black folks don't want their queers, white people can't stand theirs. Rich people send theirs to psychiatrists. Poor people kick theirs out on the street. Nobody wants us. I want us. We've got to stand up for one another" (The Farmer Brown, (http://home.houston.rr.com/blase/Root%20Folder/ritamae.html).

Her work includes the following namely, Rubyfruit Jungle written in 1973, Six of One written in 1978, Southern Discomfort written in 1982, Rest in Pieces written in 1992 and Riding Shotgun written in1996. Through her work and character, Brown works towards fighting discrimination made on the distinction of class, race and sexual orientation.

During the 1960s, Rita Mae Brown participated played a serious role in the civil rights movement and the anti-war movement. She was very prominent in starting the Women's movement and initiated and motivated the formation of the first gay group on any campus in the United States. She also participated in the Stonewall Riots.

Rita Mae Brown also managed to gather a lot of fame during her visit to Hollywood. She was known for her skills as a screenwriter. She was the writer of five screen plays and two teleplays. In 1982 she was nominated for the Emmy Award. Later the very same year she won the Writer's Guild Award for the best variety show on television called I Love Liberty. She supported the Equal Rights Amendment during her invitation to a party, hosted by Marlo Thomas. At the very same party she came across a famous 60s comedian called Fannie Flagg and fell in love with her. But their relationship never worked out.

Rita Brown showed great signs of bravery during the death of her close friend Jerry Pfeiffer. Jerry died of AIDS and as a result no one agreed to attend his funeral and no church was ready to offer him a service. The situation got so bad that no undertaker was ready to give him a proper burial. After seeing the devastating condition, Rita Brown agreed to offer her farm as his burying ground.

Rita Mae Brown has lived on her farm in Charlottesville, Virginia for twenty years. Besides writing, she also does a lot of experiments on grasses. She wants to go to an ag school by to age of sixty. She has become a true picture of an outspoken gay symbol for many individuals.

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She relies and seeks only for truth.

The book Rubyfruit Jungle is an excellent and a well-written and well-portrayed story of a young girl who is quite blunt about her being a lesbian. She seems to be fine with her identity as a lesbian. It was after the publication of this novel of hers that Rita Brown was looked upon with hate and disapproval. She said, "it brought me notoriety and numerous life threats" (The Farmer Brown, (http://home.houston.rr.com/blase/Root%20Folder/ritamae.html).

The heroine of the novel Molly Bolt is an orphan who is later adopted by a poor couple of the South. The book completely absorbs the reader through its enchanting charisma as we read how Molly's parents struggle for a better life for their daughter. Molly wants the same, but she has her own ways of achieving this goal. It is amazing how the author has displayed her character as a girl who plays bawdy practical jokes and have sex with her girlfriend at a very young, i.e. when she is in sixth grade. During her high school life, Molly plays a role of a popular girl who plays heterosexual games and is in love with the head of the cheerleading squad. She played doctors with the boys and beat up Leroy and Tub, other characters of the book. She looses her virginity to her girlfriend. As a result of her display of character, she is expelled from her college, where she had sexual relationships with the alcoholic heiress roommate. Even though there laid great obstacles in her path, she surprises the audience who her ambitiousness and her ability of never abdicating. She is greatly admired for this.

After being thrown out of college, Molly travels to New York and becomes a waitress. She supports herself with the money that she earns from her job. Not only this, she even makes through a film school. She is represented as a girl who yearns for adventure and has great dreams of achieving something in life. Despite her notorious character, the author arms her with astonishing beauty, great charms, wicked wit and vehement persistence. She uses these gifts as weapons in climbing the stairs leading to doors of becoming a great filmmaker.

According to Delese Wear, "Rubyfruit Jungle has been assigned in a literature course that deals with coming-of-age" (Literature Annotations, (http://endeavor.med.nyu.edu/lit-med/lit-med-db/webdocs/webdescrips/brown334-des-.html).

Even though the book is very interesting and represented in a well-fashioned manner by the author, it does prove to be obscene in some of its parts. The book is profane, present a good sense of humor and is filled with perverted observation on heterosexual criterion. Despite the great amount of criticism that the book initially acquired, the latest generation and lesbian readers see it as a novel, which offers both, a verification of their personal experiences and a media through which their own voices can be heard. Audience read this novel with both appreciation and gratitude since they can relate themselves and the sexual disorientation happening in the world today, to it. The book further inspires the audience due to the fact that Molly, despite all the setbacks still managed to dream and achieved something in her life. She did not let people's opinion keep her back but fought gallantly. Another admiring fact is that how Molly survives in a man's world both as a girl and as a lesbian. The novel is an extremely realistic adult fiction pertaining to a topic, which is prevalent and most questionable in today's world. The main theme of this book reveals to the audience belonging to all casts, races or sex, that it is completely unfair to criticize or hold a person from achieving anything in life primarily on accounts of him/her being different from the others.

One of the criticizing factors of the book is its obsceneness and how boldly the author puts forward the discussions on sex, even during the times when it was published. Though worthy of criticizing, it is also quite admiring how the authors reveals and sticks to the truth about the happenings in the society. She brings out the topic in front of the world rather than hiding it behind the shell. This is a very important factor, in not exploiting but exposing society and bringing about a better sense of awareness. In other words the authors truly echoes her voice through her books.….....

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